A conwoman who swindled her sick friend out of more than £10,000 after offering to help him with household chores has been spared jail.
Yulanda Panayiotou, 40, splashed out on mobile phone contracts, shopping sprees, and online gambling when trusted with the victim’s bank cards.
She had befriended the man, in his 60s, by offering to help clear his garden when he was struggling with ill-health, Snaresbrook crown court heard.
Panayiotou then went to his home every day to carry out household tasks, and when she offered to go shopping for groceries the man handed over his credit card.
However, she did not return the card and repeated the trick a few days later with a second bank card.
Panayiotou set up a string of accounts in the victim’s name, intercepting mail and deliveries until the bank cards had reached their limits.
The fraudster took £10,500 between August and November 2016, but when caught she claimed to be wheelchair-bound and physical unable to have carried out the scam.
However, she had been caught on CCTV walking around shopping with the victim’s money, and eyewitnesses including a police detective had even spotted Panayiotou running.
On Thursday last week, a judge sentenced her to 18 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered her to carry out 80 hours of community service.
Panayiotou, from Dagenham, denied but was found guilty at trial of 11 counts of fraud and three charges of theft.
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